Men's basketball: Ohio State loses in overtime at Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Ohio State played its best game of the season start to finish — beyond the regulation finish even. But it wasn’t quite good enough.

Tim Hardaway Jr. had five three-pointers in the second half and blocked Aaron Craft’s potential tying layup as overtime expired last night to give No.3 Michigan a 76-74 victory over No.10 Ohio State at the Crisler Center.

Hardaway, who scored a game-high 23 points for the Wolverines (21-2, 8-2 Big Ten), said he was surprised he wasn’t whistled for a foul. Craft, prone on his back under the basket, looked shocked, too.

Asked afterward if he felt he was hit as Hardaway took the ball away from him, Craft said, “Maybe.

“There was a lot of contact all game. We didn’t get (the call), so you’ve got to move on.”

Ohio State coach Thad Matta said he watched a replay of the last play after the game. “It is what it is,” he said.

Deshaun Thomas led Ohio State (17-5, 7-3) with 17 points, but the Big Ten scoring leader did not get a field-goal attempt in overtime. LaQuinton Ross added 16, Craft 11 and Lenzelle Smith Jr. 10 for the Buckeyes.

“We did a good job limiting Deshaun Tho-mas’ looks late in the game,” said Trey Burke, who had 16 points and eight assists for Michigan.

After regulation play ended tied at 72, Burke’s three-pointer on the first possession of overtime, with the shot clock seconds from expiring, put the Wolverines ahead 75-72.

Ohio State did not score until Craft’s layup with 55.8 seconds left, but that pulled the Buckeyes to 75-74 after they shut out the Wolverines on four straight possessions.

The Buckeyes had a chance to take the lead after Craft stripped the ball from Burke with 24 seconds left, but Burke stripped Craft at the other end and Ohio State called a timeout to set a final play.

Craft’s jumper in the lane with nine seconds left was blocked from behind by Burke, and Craft fouled Glenn Robinson III after the rebound.

Robinson made 1 of 2 free throws for a 76-74 lead with 7.6 seconds left, giving Ohio State a final chance to win or extend the game to a second overtime. But Craft’s length-of-the-court drive for a layup was blocked by Hardaway as time expired.

“I got to the rim (and) got a layup,” Craft said. “You can look back and think about five different things I could have done (other than take the shot), but in the moment, I’m happy with what I did. It just didn’t go our way.”

Hardaway made four of his five second-half threes in a span of five possessions midway through the second half after Ohio State had taken a 48-40 lead, its largest of the game, with 12:59 left. The burst gave Michigan a 55-54 lead with 8:17 left, and the lead went back and forth from there.

Burke had a chance to win the game on the last possession of regulation, but his jumper glanced off the rim.

“Obviously, we didn’t have quite enough,” Matta said. “Give Michigan credit. The plays they made were tremendous plays.”

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Ohio State played its best game of the season start to finish — beyond the regulation finish even. But it wasn’t quite good enough. Tim Hardaway Jr. had five three-pointers in the second half and blocked Aaron Craft’s potential tying layup as overtime expired last night to give No.3 Michigan a 76-74 victory over No.10 Ohio State at the Crisler Center. Hardaway, who scored a game-high 23 points for the Wolverines (21-2, 8-2 Big Ten), said he was surprised he wasn’t whistled for a foul. Craft, prone on his back under the basket, looked shocked, too. Asked afterward if he felt he was hit as Hardaway took the ball away from him, Craft said, “Maybe. “There was a lot of contact all game. We didn’t get (the call), so you’ve got to move on.” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said he watched a replay of the last play after the game. “It is what it is,” he said. Deshaun Thomas led Ohio State (17-5, 7-3) with 17 points, but the Big Ten scoring leader did not get a field-goal attempt in overtime. LaQuinton Ross added 16, Craft 11 and Lenzelle Smith Jr. 10 for the Buckeyes. “We did a good job limiting Deshaun Tho-mas’ looks late in the game,” said Trey Burke, who had 16 points and eight assists for Michigan. After regulation play ended tied at 72, Burke’s three-pointer on the first possession of overtime, with the shot clock seconds from expiring, put the Wolverines ahead 75-72. Ohio State did not score until Craft’s layup with 55.8 seconds left, but that pulled the Buckeyes to 75-74 after they shut out the Wolverines on four straight possessions. The Buckeyes had a chance to take the lead after Craft stripped the ball from Burke with 24 seconds left, but Burke stripped Craft at the other end and Ohio State called a timeout to set a final play. Craft’s jumper in the lane with nine seconds left was blocked from behind by Burke, and Craft fouled Glenn Robinson III after the rebound. Robinson made 1 of 2 free throws for a 76-74 lead with 7.6 seconds left, giving Ohio State a final chance to win or extend the game to a second overtime. But Craft’s length-of-the-court drive for a layup was blocked by Hardaway as time expired. “I got to the rim (and) got a layup,” Craft said. “You can look back and think about five different things I could have done (other than take the shot), but in the moment, I’m happy with what I did. It just didn’t go our way.” Hardaway made four of his five second-half threes in a span of five possessions midway through the second half after Ohio State had taken a 48-40 lead, its largest of the game, with 12:59 left. The burst gave Michigan a 55-54 lead with 8:17 left, and the lead went back and forth from there. Burke had a chance to win the game on the last possession of regulation, but his jumper glanced off the rim. “Obviously, we didn’t have quite enough,” Matta said. “Give Michigan credit. The plays they made were tremendous plays.” bbaptist@dispatch.com @BBaptistHoops